End Of Season Trip To The Peace River

[digit]

It's getting pretty late in the season and any day now a low pressure system with a good sustained rain could signal the end of this fossil hunting season on the Peace River. I've been so busy indulging one of my other passions (coral reef research) that I had not dipped a sifter in the Peace River even once in 2015 and time was running out. I had hoped that John (Sacha) could have made it out with us when we went out with Jeff (jcbshark) to prospect new areas beyond those in the Peace. John was unavailable then but said he had plans to go out on Thursday. I was keen to meet-up with him not only because I enjoy his company but for the added bonus that he was bringing something for me. Last year my wife and I met-up with John and a group of others to hunt for agatized fossil corals up in the Withlacoochee in southern Georgia. As I don't have a slab saw or the other tools necessary to slice open the corals, John was nice enough to take the time to slice many of our corals and polish the nicer ones.

I got up early (a little before the alarm clock was due to ring out at 3am) and was on the road and headed across state in the dark. After driving through dense patches of fog on unlit roads I was happy to greet the dawn and meet-up with John so we could hit the river nice and early at 7am. We first transferred several buckets of beautiful sliced and polished agatized corals into my car which will be a great reminder of a fun hunting trip last August. Then we loaded our gear onto kayaks and headed off on the Peace River. The water level was still low in many sections of the river and we had to get out several times to drag the kayaks across the rocky patches and micro-rapids. After maybe 30-40 minutes we arrived at the spot John had selected for the day. He asked me earlier if I was more interested in finding megs or mammals. I have several nice megs but don't really have a great variety of mammal bits so the decision was simple.

When we got to our area we probed around for gravel. John found a nice deep pocket of sandy gravel in an area where the limestone hardbottom was close to the surface and only covered by a shallow layer of sand. I sifted for a bit of micro-matrix to take home for sorting through over the summer and then switched to my larger 1/2" screen so that I could process through material faster with hopes of some interesting finds. After a few small camel teeth and miscellaneous bones John was the first to score one of the day's major finds--a really nice mammoth tooth!

Not long before that John had said that he really wasn't finding much in the hole he was digging but said sometimes you just feel like continuing an excavation even if it is not currently panning out. Either John's intuition was well tuned that day or the Karmic fossil gods were repaying him for all the work he did on my agatized corals. If I turned a slight shade of green at this point I'll deny it and claim it was the green foliage reflecting off the surface of the water.

I was busy working a little patch of gravel that seemed to be surrounded by limestone as well and so hoping to repeat John's success I dug ever deeper into this hole. Either I don't know my own strength (or more likely) the shovel I was using was just getting old but when I raised it to dump a load of sand and gravel into my sifter I was stunned to see that the business end of my shovel seemed to have been redesigned by Picasso. The metal end attached to the fiberglass shaft was bent into an S-curve and the blade had cracked in to places and was bent backward. To even attempt to keep gravel on the shovel I had to hold the handle way down. I planted the shovel in the sand and attempted to bend it back into shape aware that every time I did this I weakened the metal and lengthened the tear so that the shovel's blade would soon fall off completely. Luckily, John had brought a spare shovel--unfortunately I was back in his truck. Taking it in stride I left John at the digging site and paddled the kayak all the way back down to where we had put-in to retrieve the replacement shovel. The second time up the river seemed twice as far--either because I was getting tired or because I was in a hurry to get back to my sifter and not lose any more time.

-Ken

[digit]

I never did "catch-up" with the remarkable finds that came out of that well-stocked pocket of gravel that years of experience had led John to locate. I didn't get totally skunked though and did add a number of nice examples of dentition to my collection. It seemed to be a particularly good day for camel and peccary teeth and I got quite a nice variety.

I also found what appears to be a small whale (dolphin?) tympanic bulla. Here are two views of that piece:

Then there is this oddly shaped bone which I'm thinking must be some part of a joint on a limb bone. Still haven't found anything that matches it in my ID books:

-Ken

[digit]

My best find of the morning was a tiny little tooth with a nice full root and a small oddly-shaped crown. I'm so glad this little guy didn't escape through the openings on my 1/2" sifter but stuck around long enough for me to pluck it out. My first thought was dolphin tooth but the odd little cusp-like structures around the base of the crown and the fact that the crown was not conical but laterally compressed with a bit of a ridge makes me wonder. I'm consulting all of my ID books for this one but would greatly appreciate it if any TFF members who've seen teeth like this would help shed some light on this tiny mystery.

-Ken

[digit]

After I had returned from fetching John's replacement shovel we decided to leave this spot (as productive as it was) to do a little prospecting at another location just a few minute's paddling away. We tried to find some of the deeper holes in this new location that were now accessible with the low water level. I lucked into a nice pocket of more coarse gravel that was turning up large hemis, tigers, and lemon teeth so it appeared to be an area that was not a spoil pile from someone else--nothing worse than spending time digging through gravel that someone else has already picked the prized from. After just a few screens I pulled out my "trip-maker"--a sloth tooth!

I've only found one other sloth fossil (another tooth) that turned up in my sifter last year so this really put a smile on my face.

From the photo in my ID book and all the pictures I can find online, I believe this to be from Harlan's Ground Sloth (Paramylodon harlani). The shape of the occlusal surface seems to match one in my ID book (though in mirror image). I'd be more than willing to welcome corrections if anybody believes I've botched this ID--not claiming to be anywhere near an expert on these. The thought of a 3m tall, 1000kg sloth lumbering around the forests of South Florida has always captivated me and finding any trace of them was enough to make this a day I'll have etched in my memory (for as long as my memory holds).

Cheers.

-Ken

Edited May 15, 2015 by digit

[PaleoWilliam]

Nice finds! That's a nice sloth tooth!

[ynot]

Sounds like a good time and some wonderful finds, congratulations.

Tony

Edited May 15, 2015 by ynot

[garyc]

I never did "catch-up" with the remarkable finds that came out of that well-stocked pocket of gravel that years of experience had led John to locate. I didn't get totally skunked though and did add a number of nice examples of dentition to my collection. It seemed to be a particularly good day for camel and peccary teeth and I got quite a nice variety.

P5150001.JPG

I also found what appears to be a small whale (dolphin?) tympanic bulla. Here are two views of that piece:

P5150004.JPG

Then there is this oddly shaped bone which I'm thinking must be some part of a joint on a limb bone. Still haven't found anything that matches it in my ID books:

P5150017.JPG P5150018.JPG P5150019.JPG

-Ken

The "oddly shaped bone" at the end of this post is a sloth phalanx. Great day to find such diversity!

[Harry Pristis]

For comparison:

[Shellseeker]

Fantastic finds, Ken AND John!!!!

Agree with Ynot, the funny shaped bone is a sloth phalanx. I have a couple!!!

When looking at a mammal tooth with cusps -- think CAT incisor... like this one http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/54043-cusps-serrations/

Ken, Great trip Thanks for the report and photos

[digit]

Nice finds! That's a nice sloth tooth!

Thanks. I'm rather chuffed with it.

-Ken

[digit]

The "oddly shaped bone" at the end of this post is a sloth phalanx. Great day to find such diversity!

For comparison:

sloth_composite_A.JPG sloth_composite_C.JPG

I think that sound I just heard was my cerebral cortex imploding!

I was figuring/hoping for something like an ankle bone from a horse or maybe something camelid if I was real lucky. Two have scored two marks on my sloth tally sheet in one day is just unfathomable. My wife says I'm the luckiest guy she knows (and not just because I married her)--I'm tending to think she's right.

Thanks for the ID and the excellent comparison photo. I suspect I'll dream of sloths tonight.....

Cheers.

-Ken

[digit]

Fantastic finds, Ken AND John!!!!

Agree with Ynot, the funny shaped bone is a sloth phalanx. I have a couple!!!

When looking at a mammal tooth with cusps -- think CAT incisor... like this one http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/54043-cusps-serrations/

Ken, Great trip Thanks for the report and photos

It was a day to be out on the river--one I'll not soon forget. I think I'm about to get educated on sloth phalanges now that I have found one. Thanks for the confirmation.

I dared not think CAT incisor but I remembered your spectacular recent find and it did stir ideas in the suppressed part of my subconscious that dares to wonder. I'm going to try to do some research along those lines. Unfortunately, Dr. Hulbert is out at a meeting in Alabama till tomorrow and is then busy preparing for an annual meeting in Gainesville all next week. The earliest I'd expect to hear from him by email would be in about 10 days. Gives me plenty of time to form hypothesis before getting his input.

If this is the last I get to the Peace River for this season, it looks like I've gone out with a bang.

Thanks for all the comments and identifications.

Cheers.

-Ken

[Harry Pristis]

My best find of the morning was a tiny little tooth with a nice full root and a small oddly-shaped crown. I'm so glad this little guy didn't escape through the openings on my 1/2" sifter but stuck around long enough for me to pluck it out. My first thought was dolphin tooth but the odd little cusp-like structures around the base of the crown and the fact that the crown was not conical but laterally compressed with a bit of a ridge makes me wonder. I'm consulting all of my ID books for this one but would greatly appreciate it if any TFF members who've seen teeth like this would help shed some light on this tiny mystery.

P5150011.JPG P5150012.JPG

-Ken

The closest thing I have in my drawer is a tooth I got from Larry Martin in 1992. He called it a true seal (Phocidae) tooth. The one I have is from Gardinier Mine in Polk County. Seal fossils are pretty uncommon in the Phosphate District.

[ZiggieCie]

[digit]

The closest thing I have in my drawer is a tooth I got from Larry Martin in 1992. He called it a true seal (Phocidae) tooth. The one I have is from Gardinier Mine in Polk County. Seal fossils are pretty uncommon in the Phosphate District.

seal_tooth_phocid.JPG

I definitely see a resemblance in the first view, the reverse seems to show it with two (worn) cusps. I'll try to get an in-focus photo showing my tooth from the top (occlusal) view. It's pretty much flattened with a ridge running over the top of the main cusp and then that smaller cusp off to the side. Looking through my ID books I haven't seen anything along the lines of cats that seem to resemble this closely but some of the canid teeth did have a passing resemblance. I love a good mystery and hope this one turns up an interesting answer. BTW: I'd flip-out if this turned out to be seal.

Thanks for stirring even more wild imaginings in my fevered brain.

Cheers.

-Ken

[Harry Pristis]

I definitely see a resemblance in the first view, the reverse seems to show it with two (worn) cusps. I'll try to get an in-focus photo showing my tooth from the top (occlusal) view. It's pretty much flattened with a ridge running over the top of the main cusp and then that smaller cusp off to the side. Looking through my ID books I haven't seen anything along the lines of cats that seem to resemble this closely but some of the canid teeth did have a passing resemblance. I love a good mystery and hope this one turns up an interesting answer. BTW: I'd flip-out if this turned out to be seal.

Thanks for stirring even more wild imaginings in my fevered brain.

Cheers.

-Ken

Not a cat, not a dog . . . not a mystery. I think it's a seal tooth, and a nice one. But, double-check with Richard Hulbert just to be certain.

[digit]

I've sent out photos to Dr. Hulbert and will wait for him to have the time to reply (he's rather busy at present). I'm hoping to make the trip up to Gainesville in late June or July to visit with him and see the collection (and to visit the Letparctus ancipidens mandible that I found last year now fully prepped). I'd definitely bring this tooth up with me and donate it to FLMNH if it is indeed an uncommon find that they'd want for their collection.

Good thing I'm not operating any heavy machinery tonight as my head is spinning from all the feedback to this topic.

I do see some real similarities to the shape and texture of this tooth with you photo but I'm also aware of how easily a novice like me can overlook differences and magnify the similarities so I'll await confirmation from Dr. Hulbert before I consider an out-and-out snoopy dance. Seal is my leading hypothesis at the moment and I hope my uncanny luck holds for a verification by the paid professionals. I think it's finally time to make use of this emoticon:

Thanks for making my day.

Cheers.

-Ken

[Sacha]

I think I'll take Ken on all my future hunts. He has good luck and it extends to whoever he's with.

[ynot]

I think I'll take Ken on all my future hunts. He has good luck and it extends to whoever he's with.

ff1.jpg

It looks like You had a lot of good things in Your screen too!!!

Tony

[KYAL]

Really great finds guys!!

[jcbshark]

Great finds guys!!! Congrats on the mammoth tooth John, and that sloth tooth is pretty awesome too Ken : )

[old bones]

Wow! you two did great! I would go nuts to find a mammoth tooth. I can't begin to imagine what it must feel like to hold a sloth tooth or any of your wonderful finds. Thanks for posting all the pictures. Great trip report.

[Search4]

Awesome finds fellas! Good to see the Peace still giving up treasures to those deserving of them.

[Sacha]

Ken's a very patient hunter. This was one of those days that seemed pretty average because we sifted allot in between decent finds. At the end of the day I think we were both surprised at the total haul.

I've got to hit that hole again next week if the river stays down.

[digit]

Amazingly, I managed to hear back from Dr. Hulbert between his various conferences. He confirmed Harlan's Ground Sloth for the larger tooth. This makes me happy for two reasons: (1) that I'm able to know for certain the ID of this uncommon tooth in my collection, and (2) that I was able to zero-in on a correct ID using the books I have in my collection. As a novice at this I tend to make more missteps and misidentifications than not so it is always nice to get something right now and then.

Dr. Hulbert also chimed in on the little "mystery" tooth. I was hoping for a confirmation of seal (phocid) but it looks like it is what I first thought when I pulled it out of my sifter (before looking at it very closely)--a slightly atypical dolphin tooth. I was (of course) hoping for the long shot of a rare seal tooth as that would likely have been something of interest to Dr. Hulbert. I would have enjoyed donating the specimen to FLMNH if it was truly something rare. I've asked Dr. Hulbert if they are already well stocked with this type of dolphin tooth or if it something of potential value to their collection. I'm hoping to make it up there to see Dr. Hulbert and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the collection and hoped to be able to bring something with me to donate. Maybe John and I will make it out next week and we'll stumble across more interesting items that might make a good candidate for donation.

Dr. Hulbert's response for those who are interested:

I can confirm that the one tooth is Paramylodon harlani. The mystery tooth is from a dolphin.

Most likely from the extinct family Kentriodontidae. Could be Hadrodelphis or Delphinodon

(see Figure 17.7 of my book, page 337), although there are several other known Miocene

genera. They all have similar teeth, so would take an expert on cetaceans, of which I am not,

for a positive ID, and even that might not be possible with just one tooth.

Richard

-Ken